German 2004 Prospects: Q&A with Thomas Greiss

By KH Ehelechner

June 14th, 2004

Q&A with Thomas Greiss

Thomas Greiss, born January29th, 1986 in Fuessen, Germany, is a 6’1” tall goalie who played athis home town team Fuessen for 10 years from 1992 until 2002. Last year heplayed with the Cologne Sharks Junior team for 24 games. He played 1286 minutesand finished with a 2.61 goals against average and a .910 save percentage.

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Greiss played with the Germanteam at the U-20 World-Championship Div. I Group A where he played one game andwas promoted with the U-20 team to the highest level. He did the same with theGerman under 18 team and they were promoted as well.

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CSS ranked Greiss fourth ontheir European goaltenders list, and the best German goalie, for the upcomingdraft in Raleigh.Hockey’s Futurerecently spoke with Greiss.

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HF: Whatelse are you doing right now except relaxing?

TG: Like all year long; I am going to school and work towardmy graduation. Aside that, I am already preparing for the new season at thegym. School and training keeps me busy so there isn’t that much time to relax.

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HF: Youcan look back to a quite successful year with the Cologne SharksJuniorprogram in the DNL, the German Elite Junior League.What were the highlights?

TG: Well, one of the highlights was the win againstMannheim, for sure. One could see the potential of the Cologne Sharks Juniorteam when they act and play as a team. The year before, we couldn’t win againstMannheim. At second sight we played quite good at the playoffs, except for thefinals. Especially against Krefeld, where we weren’t expected to win this series,we played very well and could succeed in this series.

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HF: Toobad that you couldn’t win the DNL championship.What do you think was the reason for it?

TG: Apparently some guys were content with reaching thefinals and weren’t hot enough and didn’t show the necessary work ethic which isessential to win a series. That made Mannheim’s victory all right.

HF: In themeantime, you had your first deployment in the DEL the German elite league.What were your impressions to play senior hockey?

TG: My impressions were very positive. The team supported myvery well and it was a lot of fun to play there. In both games it was quite anatmosphere and the home crowd supported me well.

HF: Whatwas the big difference?

TG: The biggest difference was the serenity and the routineof most of the players. It is very impressive how relaxed a Marco Luedemannplays.

HF: WithHans Zach you have the best German coach, what is of most importance to him?

TG: In my opinion, Hans Zach favors a 100 percent attitudetowards your sport. He wants you to give everything at each practice. This isvery important, because it’s the only way to improve.

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HF: Youwere in Berlin with the German under 20 team at the world championship Div. IGroup A and with the German under 18 team at the world championship Div I B andsucceeded with both to promote to the highest division again.Which tournament was more difficult?

TG: Both were difficult, to promote to the highest divisionyou can’t lose one game. This year we were successful twice which made me veryhappy. In Berlin it seems to me it was more difficult because we tied one gameand had to rely on the help of other teams to be promoted.

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HF: At theU-18 tournament you were not the No. 1 goaltender, were you injured?

TG: I wasn’t at my best ability for sure because I broke myhand before the tournament and just came back shortly before. But we took turnsso both of us had enough ice time. At the end it just counts that you succeedand promote.

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HF: CSSranked you fourth in the upcoming NHL entry draft in Raleigh as best Germangoalie at their European goalie list. Did you decide to go there already?

TG: No, I haven’t made up my mind yet, it will be a shortterm decision.

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HF: Couldyou imagine playing in North America this coming year, or do you have otherplans?

TG: Basically I could imagine to play there, but forthe new season I signed a contract in Cologne and I will stick to it.

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HF: Isthere a favorite franchise you would like to be drafted by?

TG: No, I don’t have a favorite NHL club, I just hope to bedrafted as high as possible, and where I might play then is less important.

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HF: Who isyour favorite hockey player and why?

TG: I never had a favorite player; I always played my stylewhich I will continue to do.

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HF: Whatwill you have to work on most in order to improve?

TG: There would be so many things to answer this questionthat it would exceed the size of this interview. There are some deficits inpuck handling I have to work on.

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HF: Whatis your personal goal for the new season?

TG: I would like to jump at the chance Hans Zach will giveme and of course hope to play for the German under 20 team.